KATHERINE MACALISTER, family in tow, is spoilt for choice on a weekend break to Devon.

Define happiness. Stretching your face up to the blue sky and feeling the heat on a crisp autumnal day. Sat in the perfect pub, while the kids chase plump ducks and chickens under the tables having just wandered up the craggy moors of Dartmoor.

The colourful flora framing the scene while we watch families scrambling up the tors to gaze in wonder at the landscape that stretches indefinitely in front of them.

Welcome to Devon. You’ve got beaches, rivers, seas, mountains, moors, walks, views and more activities than you could attempt in a long weekend. But we gave it a good go, believe me.

It was also my first introduction to Dartmoor because, until now, I have always favoured the sea to anything further inland, but am now gobsmacked by how devastatingly beautiful and atmospheric Dartmoor is, and how quickly it envelops you under its spell.

Another draw was that we were staying at Flear Country, a converted farm of 12 cottages and lodges, as well as the estate house which defies belief. Flear comes complete with tennis courts, an adventure playground, an indoor play arena, ponies, pitch and putt, a swimming pool and a hot tub. We didn’t really need to leave Ducks Nest cottage, but my desire to explore and revisit some old haunts got the better of us.

Flear Country is nestled in the countryside above Kingsbridge, so it’s just a short drive to Salcombe where I spent my childhood holidays and lots of my misspent youth. And it’s still a beautiful seaside town, with an extraordinary array of beaches. We had lunch in the infamous and now wildly over-priced Ferry Inn and then jumped on to the East Portlemouth ferry, a five-minute trip, to wander the sands, eat ice cream and play on the rope swings on the beach. The children were entranced by the fishermen bringing in their catch, framed by the distinctive coloured houses.

Next morning was Mr Greedy’s turn for nostalgia and he whisked us off to Dartmoor National Park, again a quick drive away. And suddenly there it was – Widecombe Church, framed by this burning orange landscape that took my breath away. I didn’t get it back again until much later that day because the views and the colours of Dartmoor defy belief, interrupted only by the rocky tors that punctuate the landscape, providing useful points of reference, exercise and an amazing platform from which to view the landscape.

Being September, despite the sunshine, there was a fair breeze blowing, but hauling ourselves up Haytor warmed us up and gave us a good enough excuse to retire to a nearby hostelry where our good fortune continued.

Because The Rugglestone Inn was our dream pub. It ticked all the boxes – the views, the pub garden, the food, the authenticity, locals jamming the small bar as plates of steak and ale pie, ham, egg and chips and home-made soup were carried out steaming in the autumnal air. Why does food always taste better outside? The kids played with the farm animals, in the passing stream and we stayed all afternoon, hoping the blue skies and feeling of bonhomie could last for ever.

On driving home we passed the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh, having glimpsed the steam train earlier that day. Screeching to a halt we ran into the booking office and discovered the train was about to leave. There were only three excursions a day, and we were on one of them. And it was brilliant. The engine fired up, the whistle tooted and off we went chugging along to Totnes and back in a cloud of steam.

The last day we decided to devote to pure hedonism and drove straight to Woodlands Theme Park, again within 10 minutes of Flear Country. It was so empty it was almost spooky and we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. Queues? Forget it. We just ran around and helped ourselves to whatever we wanted. We gorged ourselves on pleasure rides, from the water slides to the go-karts, the animal farm to the falconry centre, the indoor play centre complete with fairground rides and slides, to the pirate ship and ball parks. Until tired and satiated we all jumped in the car and headed back to Oxford.

Long weekends don’t get any better than this.

* Web links: flearcountry.com southdevonrailway.org woodlandspark.com rugglestoneinn.co.uk salcombeinformation.co.uk discoverdartmoor.co.uk dartmoor.co.uk * The Ducks Nest in September cost £365 for three nights or £730 for seven nights. Flear Country, near Kingsbridge, South Devon. TQ97RF. 01548 521227